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- Ελληνικά
"For the great, for the free, for the brave, great, free, brave words are fitting".
Thus we ought, as our poet Nikos Engonopoulos suggests, to honour the great men, the brave ones, those who set as a basic goal in their lives the safeguarding of the precious good of freedom and the defence of the territorial integrity of the homeland.
Those who were the first to respond to its every call, faithful to their historical duty, steadfast defenders of the rights of our country.
It is with feelings of deep emotion and national pride that we have gathered here today, at the naming ceremony of the park "Hermes Christodoulou - Lieutenant General in Retreat".
Hermes Christodoulou's active involvement in all the critical moments of modern Cypriot history has made him a model of militancy, agility and resistance.
His selfless contribution to his homeland is a sacred legacy that calls for readiness, vigilance and continuation of the struggle we are waging until the holy day of the final vindication of Cyprus.
A legacy that calls us to follow the path of philanthropy, courage, absolute commitment and faith in the universal values of freedom and democracy.
Hermes Christodoulou was born on July 17, 1936, in Aghios Homologites. He spent his childhood years, up to the completion of primary education, in Lefka. He then returned to Nicosia to attend the Pancyprian Gymnasium.
It was, in Cyprus, the period when Cypriot Hellenism was preparing to make a historical breakthrough, proving that if the will of the small and weak for survival and justice is deeply rooted in the soul of the people, the theoretically unattainable and impossible can be made possible.
It was, in Cyprus, the period when Cypriot Hellenism was preparing to make a historical breakthrough, proving that if the will of the small and weak for survival and justice is deeply rooted in the soul of the people, the theoretically unattainable and impossible can become possible.
A handful of "madmen", as some called them, but determined and passionate about freedom, managed to turn the unquenchable desire for liberation and self-determination into a thunderous expression of self-denial and self-sacrifice. People of everyday life, of toil and drudgery, with dreams and ambitions, amusing schoolchildren, students who, sensing the criticality of the times, acted on the basis of a deep faith in the justice of the struggle.
Crushing the numerical and military facts against them, they walked wholeheartedly on the rough road that their unadulterated love for Cyprus and Greece made them walk.
Hermes Christodoulou also followed this path.
From early on he took the honoured oath of the Organisation, playing a leading role in the student demonstrations organised against the colonialists, and actively participating in all the missions assigned to them.
A typical example is the mission to kidnap the English retired Colonel Creamer, hoping to exchange him for the death row inmate Andreas Zakos.
Because of his involvement in this daring action, he was arrested by the British army and remained as a prisoner in military detention for a period of thirty months.
After the end of the liberation struggle, his unquenchable passion for service led him to join the Cypriot army as an officer and later the National Guard.
He actively participated in the first armed conflicts to ensure the legitimacy of the newly established Republic of Cyprus, at Omorphita in 1963 and later at Mansoura in August 1964, where he was wounded.
The intercommunal conflicts, the fratricidal division, the foreign machinations, the betrayal and the coup d'état of 15 July 1974 offered Turkey the opportunity it sought in order to implement its illegitimate plan.
The great Cypriot filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis, in his iconic documentary "Attila '74 - The Rape of Cyprus", captures in the following shocking narrative the catastrophe that took place in Cyprus.
"On 20 July Turkey invades Cyprus.
Prime Minister Edzevit describes the invasion as a simple peacekeeping intervention to restore constitutional order.
Undeterred, the Turkish air force bombs towns and villages.
Napalm bombs burn forests and civilians.
The streets are filled with refugees fleeing their homes [...]
[...] Women and children are trapped in churches and schools.
Men are taken to concentration camps in Turkey or disappear forever..."
In the same documentary, then Captain Hermes Christodoulou describes in detail the cold-blooded murderous attack he was subjected to by a coup officer on 15 July 1974.
After being shot at close range, he was transferred and left to bleed for several hours in a disciplinary cell until he was transferred to the Nicosia General Hospital, where he was hospitalized. On Saturday 20 July, the day of the Turkish invasion, for his own safety, he was transferred by his relatives to a private clinic.
After the end of the operations and the healing of the wounds sustained in both legs, he rejoined the National Guard, and served the force faithfully, performing his duty to his country to the fullest extent, until his retirement, in 1996, with the rank of Major-General.
Hermes Christodoulou was throughout his life, until his death three years ago, a pure fighter for freedom and democracy. A true patriot, who, facing the consequences, fought with vigour, defending his beliefs, without hesitating for a moment, without cowardice or asking for anything in return for his contribution.
This is the testimony, with gratitude, respect and love, of all those who knew him, collaborated and interacted with him.
Today, with great emotion, in appreciation of his many years of service to Cyprus, the place where we are will bear his name.
It will now bear witness to his honourable life and his active service to his country.
Reflecting on the magnitude of his contribution, we, in turn, unequivocally declare our will to continue with the same faith and determination in the struggle to achieve our ultimate national goal.
The lifting of the occupation and the liberation and reunification of our homeland.
With the lyrics of Nikos Engonopoulos, we salute him, expressing our undivided gratitude.
"[...] he was not afraid, he was not "shaded" as they say, never,
Nor in the most murderous hour of battles, nor in the bitter blackness of betrayal, of inevitable betrayal.
They say that he knew beforehand, with an unimaginable precision, the day, the hour, even the second:
the moment [...]".
Thank you.
(ΕΠ)
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